I am a 54-year-old Londoner marooned in Kent. My relationship with the Guardian and the Weekly reads like an epic love story spanning almost 30 years. It began when I met my husband 28 years ago. Both relationships overcame an initial indifference which very quickly gave way to a devoted attachment.

My husband is Northern Irish and was impressed by Simon Winchester's ability to accurately represent the mood and concerns of the people in his coverage of the Troubles in the early 1970s. The paper had a voice he felt he could trust and this continues to give us both something to cling to with so many of the nation's institutions apparently unravelling.

I work as a CBT therapist and the qualities I see in the paper reflect the very best that therapy can offer. A warm, caring and trusting environment that allows challenge, accepts difference and encourages curiosity and self-discovery.

I am associate editor of CBT Today and get to write and source copy which covers my particular interests in art and culture. GW is an invaluable resource and guide and its music coverage is peerless. Some of my most memorable experiences have been linked to the newspaper, like Springsteen at Glastonbury 2009 and Stevie Wonder in the sun in 2010, memories of which regularly replay in my head, as does attending the Guardian festival at Kings Place in 2012.